Early Lead Slips Away Against Mariners

XENIA, Ohio – The Xenia Scouts built an early four-run advantage Wednesday night, but the Grand Lake Mariners rallied with a five-run seventh inning to claim a 12-6 victory at Grady's Field.

The Scouts jumped out to a 5-1 lead through the first two innings before the league-leading Mariners gradually erased the deficit and pulled away late.

Grand Lake struck first with a sacrifice fly in the opening inning, but Xenia answered immediately. Ethan Moore tied the game with a sacrifice fly before the Scouts capitalized on Grand Lake miscues in the second inning. Gabe Mathison reached on an error that allowed Owen Roether to score before Cole Rohlmeier drew a bases-loaded walk and Moore added an RBI single to give Xenia a 5-1 advantage.

The Mariners chipped away with two runs in the third before taking advantage of a pair of unearned runs in the fourth to even the score at 6-6. Mathison delivered an RBI single in the sixth inning to briefly restore the Scouts' lead, but Grand Lake responded in the top of the seventh with five runs, highlighted by a three-run triple to take control of the contest.

Mathison paced the Scouts offensively with two hits, two RBI and two stolen bases. Moore added two RBI, while Rohlmeier drove in a run and Cooper Schutte reached base and scored during the early offensive surge. Despite collecting just five hits, Xenia scored six runs by taking advantage of four Grand Lake errors and drawing four walks.

On the mound, Ryan Redding provided a strong relief appearance, allowing just one unearned run over 2.2 innings while striking out two. Trey Tipton worked the first three innings before Adam Pitts and Keegan Philips combined to finish the game in relief.

The Scouts look to face the Michigan Monarchs in a three game series on the road starting Friday.